Redwall: Vrel's Tale
by Lord Vrel
Summary: Formerly "The Journey", I've finally started re-uploading the story of how Vrel came to Mossflower! This time, I won't be taking it all down to do any touch-ups until the whole darn thing is finished! I hope everyone enjoys.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Still smoothing it out, so this is just a draft, but considering how many times I've re-written this (sorry, reviewers), it probably won't change TOO much after this. Hope you enjoy!**

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_Hello, friends! Come in, out of the cold. Old father winter seems to be enjoying himself this down. Just move the papers out of the way... I can guess why you're here. Looking for another tale of adventure and wonder, of love and loss, treachery and loyalty, of friendship and sacrifice._

_Let's see what I have on these dusty old shelves...__Hmm... No... We've read that one... This one's far too sappy..._

_Here we are! The tale of the High Rhulain! There's a good one.__What's that? You've already read it? That won't do then..._

_There must be something here you haven't heard yet..._

_Ah, I've got it! One that hasn't been written yet. Simply been passed around by word-of-mouth, if I can just remember how it goes..._

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The two had made camp in this small clearing the night before, as they were traveling a long ways, though to where, they didn't know.

And occasionally, in early morning, sometimes before sunrise, the squirrel would drag the poor ferret out of his bedroll for battle practice. Today was such a morning.

The young ferret swung his staff around wildly, attempting to block the flurry of strikes that rained down on him from every direction. Seeing his opponents dual-blades coming down from above, he turned his staff horizontally and thrust it upward, bracing himself for the impact of steel against his staff. But the blow never came.

Instead, he felt a footpaw slam into his stomach, making the young ferret fall back into the dirt and causing the breath to be knocked out of him. His opponent, a squirrel of about the same age, let out a laugh as he offered a paw to help the deafeated ferret up.

"You've got to start watching your enemy, Leo. Not his weapon."

The ferret, after regaining his breath, took the proffered paw and replied "My name is Ivelleos, and 'twould be more polite to call me that." He stood up before continuing playfully; "Anyway, I fear that were I to look upon an opponent dressed as you, I might go blind."

Vrel laughed again, indeed, his outfit was rather bright. A green silk tunic, scarlet gloves, and bright red cape. Not to mention the decorated straps that held his scimatars, as well as a small chain pendant, carved . Next to Ivelleos, with just the simple brown robes of an apprentice scholar, his outfit seemed even more garish.

But he enjoyed being the center of attention, and that outfit often helped to make him so. At least, until otherbeasts got used to it. But by then he would simply wear something else as flashy (and oft twice as ridiculous).

The two had met many miles to the southeast, in the small kingdom of Mirkatar, where they were both originally from. Ivelleos was a simple scholar's apprentice, and had decided that the best way to gather and learn as much knowledge as he could would be to go out and actively seek said knowledge. However, Ivelleos was not much of a fighter, and knowing full well that the road ahead would likely be dangerous, he needed someone versed in battle to accompany him. That someone was Vrel.

Vrel himself was the adopted son of Zether Di'Carthillon, a noble squirrel who had taught Vrel all he knew about swordplay, archery, and winning over young maidens. He also taught Vrel how to make a wonderful walnut cake. Vrel however, was young and adventurous, full of wanderlust, he had agreed to join Ivelleos on a journey to new lands. That was how they had both wound up here, just miles south of the mountain of Salamandastron

"Might we continue upon our path now?" Ivelleos asked, a bit perterbed that his whole morning had been spent as a practice dummy.

"Aye, I suppose we should. It's your turn to carry the rucksack though." he added, referring to the small but heavy bag containing their food and some cooking utensils.

The ferret replied with a grin "Very well sir, then you may carry my bedroll." and with a small flourish, he threw the already-tied bedroll at Vrel, who caught it with a grunt. Minutes later, the two were on their way.

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_A days journey north of Redwall abbey_

Darkfang the fox sat in a small cave that served as his shelter. He was tall for a fox, and stood at least a head taller than any of the other creatures in his camp.

Not that there _were_ many others in his camp, just two score of assorted vermin, all camped outside, gathered around a couple fires, eating, drinking, fighting and sleeping.

Darkfang growled as he tore another chunk of meat off the woodpigeon he was eating.  
Whoever had cooked it hadn't seen that it was fully plucked, and he had to pull many small feathers out of it himself.

Oh well. At least he had something to eat, as the small raiding band's luck had been bad of late.

Suddenly, a rat came in, Buldug, and he stood nervously in front of his leader.

Darkfang looked up and asked wearily "Well? What is it?"

The rat sputtered out quickly "A, uh, visitor ta see ya, boss. 'e says we're to join a 'orde."

"And who is he to give Darkfang orders?!" The fox boomed "Tell him I'll see him out there."

The rat scurried out, and a few moments later, Darkfang stepped out into the sunlght, dressed in badly worn patches of armor held together by leather straps, and he sported a large dual-headed axe.

His band was standing in a circle, weapons drawn, around a large beast dressed in thick black armor, a crimson cape hanging loosely off it's shoulders. His face was hidden by the helmet he wore, and his voice rang out from inside "Are you the Chief?"

Darkfang shouldered the axe, and spat, saying "Aye, and who are you ta be comin' in 'ere, telling my soldiers we're to be joining some horde?"

The beast staywed silent for a moment, before speaking "I am simply called the Black Knight. Recruiter for the horde of Warlord Havran, and humble servant of Lady Kilvanya. You are to join Havran in his camp, three days march to the north and east. Any of you that doesn't, shall be hunted down and killed."

"And what if I kill you first, knight?" Darkfang readied his axe.

The Black Knight said nothing. He simply drew a simple broadsword and pointed it at the fox, challenging him.

With a cry of anger, Darkfang rushed the Black Knight, smacking the sword to one side with the head of his axe, he spun and swung the great axe with all his strength.

But the blow was countered with lightning speed, and before the fox could react, he felt the cool kiss of steel in his ribs. Looking down, he saw the Knights broadsword, piercing through his chest and out his back. He dropped to the ground with a gurgle, and the Black Knight pulled the sword out of the fox quickly, and wiped the blade off on his shoulder, the red of the blood almost unseen in the red of the cape.

He looked around at the vermin, who were staring, some with mouths agape. He spoke loudly, so that they all could hear.

"Pack up your equipment, and begin moving Northeast. When you come across the horde of Warlord Havran, tell them who sent you. Unless any among you also wish to challenge the order?"

None of the vermin did.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please, review! Unless you just don't want to. That's fine too. I guess.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hooooooly cow. I'm so sorry, anyone who had read this before. As I was editing through I realized there were SO MANY grammatical errors, and I even repeated some lines. I think I fixed it all now though, but let me know if you catch anything I missed. XD**

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_South of Salamandastron_

Vrel was feeling quite up in spirit this morn. He and Ivelleos had covered much ground within the past few days... Not that they were aiming to travel anywhere in particular, but still, it was nice to be getting nowhere so quickly.

Few words were passed between them, save a bit of playful banter as they cleaned up the grounds they had camped in the night before.

They started off to the north-east, still quiet for the most part, until Ivelleos spoke "I've been meaning to ask, Vrel... Have you ever heard of a place called Redwall?"

The squirrel shook his head "No, I don't think so... Oh! An abbey built out of redstone? I think my father once told me about it, a long time ago."

"Father? I thought you never knew your parents. You told me that someone called Zether raised you, didn't he?"

"Aye, and he was a father to me. Blood doesn't equal family, no disrespect to my family of course. Whoever they were."

"Ah. Anyway, according to my maps, we're not terribly far from it. Would you care to take a look there?"

Vrel thought for a moment, then said "Not really. I've nothing against peaceful beasts, but I doubt it would be a very fun place to be. All rules, no fights. I need the sound of steel to steel, the taste of blood, the cries of battle, the-"

Ivelleos nodded "Aye. Little excitement, I'm sure. But after all, if it's an abbey, there will probably be a library of some sort. Think of all the knowledge we could find!"

"Bah! The only thing I need to know is how to swing my swords, and how to make my next meal."

The ferret glanced at Vrel with a look of pity "But my dear Vrel, knowledge is power. Besides, I'm sure they could teach you how to actually make a meal. Maybe they'll even have a young squirrel maiden working in the kitchens who can show you a thing or two."

Vrel brightened considerably, and said "Well, I suppose I _could _stand to learn a few things about cooking. How long will it take to get there?"

Smirking to himself, Ivelleos replied "No more than a few days, provided we don't get sidetracked, and we keep a good pace."

Vrel looked over at his companion "We'd best be on our way then!"

Ivelleos was relieved when just a couple of hours later he and Vrel came upon a wide, slowly flowing river, finally stopping for a moment and allowing Ivelleos to catch his breath, as he wasn't used to all this jogging yet.

Vrel might not have been able to move that quickly for that long either, but for the fact that he was fueled by the thoughts of feasts and females.

What Ivelleos hadn't mentioned to him, the ferret thought with a smirk, was that he wasn't even sure if Redwall was still inhabited. The map he was using to guide them was many, many seasons old, and as they both came from far to the south, all they knew about Mossflower and the surrounding country came from stories, and said map.

Vrel paced back and forth along the bank of the river for a moment, the turned to his companion and asked "Did your map happen to show a way to get across this? We might be able to try swimming, the current doesn't seen terribly strong. Do you know how to swim?"

Still breathing a bit heavily, the ferret replied "No... And you are NOT going to get me learning anytime soon. Besides, how would we swim with our supplies? I suppose we'd best look for a ford..." He paused to take a swig from his waterskin before finishing "Or find somebeast to ferry us. There must be some way to get across."

"Too bad we don't have a rope. I could just swim that across, then pull you and the supplies over. Oh well, we'd best start searching." Vrel said, and started off down the shore. Ivelleos sighed and dragged himself up to follow the squirrel.

The sun would be setting in just a few hours, but for the young ferret, it could not set soon enough, that he might just lie down and sleep.

About an hour later, they entered a bit of woodland surrounding the river. Seeing his chance, Ivelleos suggested they stop there, as they could build a fire and have a hot meal for their dinner, as well as shade from the sun until it set.

Vrel shrugged and said "We could still cover quite a ways. I'm sure there'll be plenty of trees where we're going, it all looks like woodland around here. Could you check the map?"

"This map looks as though it were scrawled by a mole flying on the back of an eagle, and drawn with a very untidy piece of charcoal to boot. I can barely tell if we're going the right direction, much less what's on the way. Luckily some other beast seems to have come along and written the names of the places later, much more legibly. Look, here's Redwall abbey, here is... "

The ferret scholar paused for a moment and squinted at the paper before continuing; "Uncle Ginny's hut. And there's what seems to be a mountain, named... Salamandastron. I _think _this is the river, but beyond that…" He shrugged and sat down in a patch of fallen leaves and twigs.

"You have an uncle here?"

"No, the beast that wrote the names on this map did."

"Ah, well... Why didn't you find a better map?" Vrel asked.

Ivelleos replied slowly, as though talking to a childbeast "If there had been a better map, don't you think I would have taken the better map?" Opening his pack, he tore a hunk of stale bread out and began chewing on it, continuing "Besides, even if I had a better map, and even if there are plenty of trees, I would still stop here. I am rather tired and irritated. If you're so full of energy, go down and fill the waterskins in the river, then go find us some firewood. I'm going to cook us a decent meal, this bread seems to be getting moldy."

The squirrel replied cheerfully, "Okay! I'll be back soon!"

And with a dash, he was off. Ivelleos sighed in relief, and sat there for a bit, before setting about preparing things to cook with.

Vrel had decided to refill the waterskins first, and after he had done that, he set about in search of some wood to use in the fire. He had gathered several sticks and twigs, and was about to head back, when he heard somebeast shouting in pain.

"Kwah! Dee jus' kigged by dose! By pore ol' dose..."

A ruckus of cruel laughter sounded out, before the next voice was heard.

"Stop yer whinin', Brushtail. Yew arsked for it when ya got too close."

Dropping the firewood, Vrel moved quickly forward trying to listen.

"She broke my dose! Gill 'er, Goddle."

"Shaddup, ya prickle-pawed idjit."

Coming over a low hill, the squirrel was able to see who was talking exactly. Two stoats and a rat. One of the stoats, evidently Brushtail, was holding a paw to his bleeding nose. The other two vermin were each holding a rope on either side of a haremaid, who was bound by the ropes, gagged, and clearly not happy about the situation.

The rat simply sat there laughing, while the other stoat, Goddle, berated his bleeding companion.

"Wat were yew ev'n doin wit dat knife anyway? We needs 'er alive if we're gonna use 'er for bargainin'."

The bleeding seemed to subside a bit, and Brushtail let go of his nose, wiping the blood off on a handkerchief that he had apparently taken from the captive hare.

Looking in disgust at it, he tossed it to the side and said "I don't see why we even got to barg'n wit 'er. Why not jus' kill 'er?"

Goddle tweaked his fellow stoats ear, and raised his voice slightly "Cause if we bargain' 'er, we could get all sorts 'o' nice things. Woodlanders is awful cowardly an soft when they see's another beast about to die. We could gerrus some nice food, and cloaks for the winter... An dannylion cordial." He sighed and stared off in the distance "I likes dannylion cordial."

"Huh, why not jus' kill them too, and take what we likes?"

"Because they hide in their trees an 'oles in the ground. I ain't climbing a tree nor getting buried alive chasing after some runty liddle woodlanders when I could just 'ave 'em pile what I wants at me footpaws."

Vrel had heard enough to understand the situation, and knew he had to do something to help the hare. The only weapons he had however, were his dual scimatars, and a small knife.

Ah, well... Can't be helped. He thought. He stood, pulled out the knife, took aim and let it fly!

Unfortunately, Vrel was never very good with throwing weapons of any kind, which frustrated him to no end as it was one of the only kinds weapons he couldn't use. The knife whizzed past the rat it had been intended to hit, and stuck the haremaid on the side of the head, luckily with the hilt instead of the blade so she wasn't killed then and there.

She was still knocked cold, however, and would wake up with a nasty headache more likely then not. "Blast it all to the hellgates" Vrel cursed.

The rat turned and let out a yell "Oi! A tree-jumper just took a throw at me!" Dropping the rope, he drew out a rusty shortsword, and rushed at Vrel.

Luckily, Vrel was far better with his swords then he was at throwing knives. He drew them out quickly, knocking his opponents weapon to the side with one, and running the other straight through the rats chest.

Both the stoats had their weapons ready now, also simple swords, though less rusty at least.

Goddle shouted out "Halfear! Are yew okay mate?!"

The reply came in the form of a gurgle as the rat sank to the ground.

The stoat stared blankly, then yelled at Vrel "Yew rotter! 'e was the only one what knew 'ow to cook 'alfway decent!" he and Brushtail both ran at the squirrel, swinging their swords. Unfortunately, both of them were much better swordsmen than the late Halfear. They came in swinging at the same time, with surprising skill and teamwork, forcing Vrel to move quickly, twisting and turning, moving his scimitars quickly to avoid and block the flurry of blows.

His chance came when Goddle, not watching his footpaws, tripped over a tree root that was sticking out of the ground. Vrel swung with all the force he could muster, and smashed his blade hard into the side of the stoats head, slicing a large gash in his skull and killing him almost instantly.

Brushtail stared at the dead stoat, then fell to the ground blubbering "Please don' 'urt me master. It was Goddle! 'E made me catch the rabbet! I wanted to let 'er go, but he said we 'ad to use 'er for bargainin' and stealing. On me oath, 'twas all 'im."

Vrel never had patience for cowards, and he raised his his scimitar, preparing to put the sobbing stoat out of his misery, when he heard Ivelleos shout "Vrel, NO!"

Turning, he saw the ferret, who had apparently been watching, come running up, and said "Why not? He's obviously a murderer, a slaver, and worse, a coward. I'd be doing him a favor, and I'd be protecting the more decent creatures, by killing him now."

The ferret looked at Vrel with a look that surprised Vrel, and began shouting "Who are you to decide who lives or dies?! And how, in the name of the hellgates and all the dark forest would you be doing him a favor?! Maybe he'd change his ways. Maybe if you let him live now, he'd become a hero, and repent all his murderous ways. Save lives, even. Furthermore, it's one thing to kill in self defense, but you'd strike down an unarmed creature begging for mercy?! That would make you no better than he. I had thought better of you, Vrel."

The squirrel stared in shock. He had never, in all the time he had spent with the ferret, seen him so angry. But Ivelleos was right, and Vrel looked away, ashamed, replying "I'm sorry… You're right. I guess I just wasn't thinking..."

That appeared to help placate the ferret, who sniffed and said simply "Well, next time, think before you do."

He then turned to the stoat, who had since fallen into a fit of sobs and sniffling, and said "And you, young sir, what would your mother say if she knew you were out harming innocent beasts? Surely she'd be ashamed that her son couldn't even garner a decent living. Run off now, and if we ever catch you intending to hurt innocent beasts again, I might not be so quick to stop my friends blade."

"Oh thank ya sir. Thank ya kindly..." Here the stoat sniffed, and stood up slowly, leaving his blade where it lay. Vrel growled at him to hurry it along, and he was off in a dash.

Vrel turned to his friend, and said quietly "Thank you for stopping me, Leo. I guess I just got carried away."

Ivelleos shrugged it off "Well, it ended out alright. Now let's see about that poor haremaid... She's still breathing. What happened to her?" he asked, moving towards the unconscious form.

"You didn't see?"

"No, I arrived just as you killed that stoat."

Quickly slipping his knife off the ground and into his pocket before the ferret noticed it, Vrel replied "Um... One of the vermin, ah... Hit her with the haft of his sword, I believe, when the battle started, so they wouldn't have to worry about her while I was here. Yes, that's what happened."

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_**A/N: **_**Soooooo? How are you liking it so far? It doesn't take long to tell me. You don't even have to leave a huge detailed review. Just say "I like it" or "I don't like it". :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long for such a short chapter. Honestly, the biggest reason it took this long is that ORIGINALLY, this was going to be the general setup for the bad-guys, but then I decided to change it, so I tried to take out all the stuff I had written for the villians, and was planning something completely different, but theeeeen I found out that I had still left the mention of "Lord Havran's Horde" in the first chapter, when the Black Knight appears, so I was like "%*9#!" and then I had to re-write the chapter for these villians, so... Here it is. Enjoy.**

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_Somewhere to the northeast of Mossflower_

Warlord Havran was in a fine mood, even giving a light, toothy smile. A rare thing for the normally glowering stoat.

He looked down at his army from the hilltop he was on, three hundred and four score vermin at last count, with more arriving every day. Today had seen the largest group of vermin to join his horde yet, two score of assorted rats, ferrets, weasels and stoats.

Some days were better than others, sometimes there would be over a dozen vermin who would join the horde, a few times there was even a full score, but most days it was only two or three new recruits who came crawling in, still with fear in their eyes as they related stories of the black-armored beast who had sent them.

But that didn't matter. Havran was in no hurry, he knew that as long as he kept a tight hold on his army, and as long as the Black Knight continued sending recruits, eventually his horde would be unstoppable.

The smile slipped from his face as his thoughts drifted to the Black Knight.

He didn't like the Knight, didn't know anything about him, even his name or what species he was. For all the stoat knew, the Black Knight might not even be flesh and blood, simply a living suit of armor with a mind of it's own.

The Black Knight had just walked one day into the middle of the horde's encampment, the few vermin who had tried to stop him had been slain on the spot.

Havran himself was preparing to do battle with the beast, expecting this to be an attempt to usurp the leadership of his army, but instead of attacking, the Knight took a knee to the Warlord, and said only that his master wished him to do Havran's bidding.

That was all Havran knew, which was why he ordered the Knight to scour the land for new recruits, though he certainly needed more beasts under his command for what he had planned, his main intent was to simply keep the Black Knight as far away as possible.

The stoat was so lost in these thoughts that he didn't even hear his mate as she quietly came to his side, inquiring "What stirs in your mind, Havran?"

He turned to look her in the eye, showing no sign of surprise at the sudden interruption to his ponderings, he knew his mate knew something more about the Black Knight, who he was, but she had never been one to reveal secrets.

Realizing he should reply, the Warlord said "Naught that isn't always stirring. What say you, dearest, about this newest group of recruits?" referring to the forty who had joined them that morning, led by the rat Buldug.

"None among them are particularly impressive, but they can all swing a sword, so they shall serve their purpose."

Havran nodded in response. He had been disappointed to learn that the fox who had led the vermin before had been killed. It was a pity, the fox could have gone far in the horde, provided the stories of his size and strength were to be believed.

But he didn't dwell on it too long. As Kilvanya had said, as long as they could swing a sword, they would serve their purpose.

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**A/N: I'll try to get the next chapter out soon, as most of it's already written. Just needs a few lines removed and a few new ones added, and it should be a lot longer than this one. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay, so, it's not as long as I thought... I was thinking of the fifth chapter when I said it was going to be longer. Still better than the last one though, and hey, more Vrel! :D**

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Vrel and Ivelleos had carried the unconscious hare back to their makeshift campsite, as well as a pair of rapiers they had found that they assumed were hers.

Ivelleos had asked Vrel to try and care for the maiden whilst the ferret consulted his books for anything on how to care for head injuries. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the few he had brought on this journey, and the one medical journal he did have focused on sicknesses and disease rather than direct injury. He had learned a great deal about the finer points of cake decorating, however.

He was just getting to the part about making frosting flowers with a honeyed glaze when he had looked up to see Vrel scrubbing the poor maidens head wound, none too gently, with a piece of cloth that looked as though it had been torn from some brown robes, then dropped in mud and trampled on. When questioned about it, Vrel simply replied "Oh, I couldn't find anything else, so I used some extra cloth I found in one of the packs, I think it was yours. Unfortunately, I accidentally dropped them in that mud puddle over there. Hope you don't mind."

However, Ivelleos did mind. Quite a bit, as it turned out, as the 'extra cloth' Vrel had found was Ivelleos' only spare robe, and as the one he was wearing were torn and dirty from all the travel and he had nothing else to don, he was forced to borrow one of the squirrels red silken shirts, complete with a green trim, and a set of ill-fitting black trousers. Deciding he wanted nothing more to do with the squirrel at that moment, he had sent Vrel off to bury the vermin that were slain earlier.

And so, Ivelleos was stuck sitting there, the haremaiden's head in his lap, dripping a few droplets of water over her, and tenderly wiping off any that strayed too near her eyes.

But the ferret was still a bit bitter at the whole situation. This was one of the few chances he had to read his books, and because of that warriors incapacity for gentle care, the ferret would probably have to wait until they reached Redwall to get any studying in. If there _were_ any inhabitants, which he still wasn't sure about.

Suddenly, the haremaid stirred, and opened her eyes, staring up at Ivelleos as if seeing things in a dream. She sighed and closed her eyes again, breathing softly.

"Odd..." Ivelleos said out loud. Suddenly the haremaids eyes snapped open, and she jumped up, staggering a bit as she looked around, then at Ivelleos. Her eyes widened, and she quickly looked around a weapon. Seeing her rapiers lying against a few traveling packs, she stumbled over and drew them out of their holsters with a flourish, spinning to face the ferret with what seemed like it was supposed to be a fighting stance.

"I suggest you back off, ya blinkin' blighter, before I am forced to do something very unladylike with these swords and your tail-end."

Ivelleos blinked at her for a moment, then widening his eyes as he comprehended the very crude threat, before saying "Madam, first of all, I intend you no harm. In fact, I've been sitting here nursing you back to health, and the least you could do is show a little gratitude. Second, even if I were planning to attack you, I doubt there is much you could do. Judging from the way you look, I'd say that you're so dizzy right now that you probably are seeing doubles."

The haremaid swayed a bit, and then waved her dual blades at the ferret, replying "That's alright, I've myself two swords, one for each of you. C'mere ya bloomin' vermin! I'll give you what for! I'll carve your black withered heart right out've ya!" She lurched towards Ivelleos, who stood up and with surprisingly little effort, removed the rapiers from the maiden's hand, then pushed her back gently so that she fell on her rear.

"T'ain't fighting fair, sah! Not fair at all!"

"Oh, hush up. I think you'd best rest again. Oh, and while you're doing so, dream yourself up some manners. That was hardly language appropriate of a lady."

The haremaid blinked for a bit, shaking her head and apparently finally getting rid of the dizziness.

She looked up at Ivelleos, who was still holding both her swords, and, not knowing that he probably would have cut his own tail off should he try to use them, decided to try the diplomatic approach.

"Ahem, my apologies, sah. I suppose if you wanted me harmed, you wouldn't've been carin' for a gel like me like that. Probably would've chained me up and let me die. Or 'ave used me for ransom. That's what most blinkin' vermin would do."

"As you can see, milady, I am not like most vermin. My name is Ivelleos. Might inquire for yours?" He slid the rapiers back into their belt loops, against the packs, before sitting down across the small fire from the haremaid.

"Goldflower." The hairmaid replied, fluttering her eyes at this dashing young ferret. Now that she looked at him, he WAS rather well dressed. His speech was far better than what she was used to from vermin as well. She still didn't trust him, of course, it would take more than fancy words and nice clothes to convince her he was anything but a villain, but perhaps with a little charm she could get him to let down his guard. She cleared her throat and said

"Well, Mister Ivelleos, does this mean you are the one to thank for rescuing me from those _awful_ vermin?"

The ferret was taken aback by the sudden change in the haremaiden's attitude and speech, but he brushed her earlier violence away as simply an after-effect of waking up in a strange place with a strange beast. "No, Madam, I'm afraid that honor is reserved for my companion, Vrel. He should be returning shortly, you can thank him then. I simply tried to care for you whilst you were unconscious."

"Still such a noble deed from such a handsome beast. Isn't there any way I can show my gratitude?" she gave him a pouting smile.

"No thanks necess-mmmmph!" Ivelleos was cut off as the maiden pounced on him, pulling him into a fiery kiss as she tried to reach slyly for one of her swords, when she was suddenly surprised by another creatures voice.

"Well well well well _well_! I never knew you had such a way with the ladies, Leo."

Ivelleos groaned inwardly Vrel returned. Pushing the haremaid off of him, the ferret stuttered out "Er... No... I... It wasn't... No! I... We... She..." The ferret stopped for a moment, regained his composure, and spoke softly "Perhaps she was hit in the head harder than I first feared."

"Sure mate. Sure."

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**A/N: Thanks to Everyone who reviewed so far, and thanks to everyone who's going to review in the future! :3**


	5. Chapter 5

After introductions and explanations were made, poor Ivelleos had to spend the better part of the day either listening to Vrel's playful mockery of the kiss, or Goldflower's complaining about her aching head.

They had broken camp shortly after Vrel had returned to discover, as he put it, "Two beasts locked in the passionate embrace of true love's kiss."

Goldflower had mentioned that the vermin who had captured her had used a small boat to ferry her across the river, so they returned to the site of her rescue once more, and from there it didn't take long to track back to the boat, as the vermin were no experts in moving through the woods without leaving a trail. Though, even if they had been, they were dragging a struggling haremaid along with them.

They pushed the boat out of some bushes which the vermin had hastily shoved it into, probably in a sad attempt to hide it until their return.

When they got it onto the water, Vrel climbed in with ease, and offered a paw to Goldflower, who took it and climbed in. Ivelleos however, stood there at the edge of the water, frozen.

Vrel got out and whispered to his friend "Come on now Ivelleos, it's not so bad. It's a steady craft, it won't tip, barely even wobbles, and besides, it's just a short ride."

The ferret stayed still, and whispered back "Vrel, I can't..."

"Come on mate, you're the one who says phobias are just irrational things that have to be overcome. Move forward, lest we fall into... What word was it?"

Ivelleos nodded and gulped "Lest we fall into mediocrity and fail in the pursuit of perfection. You're right, Vrel. I can do this." He put a paw into the water, and then another, and then made a mad dash into the boat, nearly knocking Goldflower over in the process.

The haremaid seemed to hardly notice however, and grabbed the ferret's arm, trying to steady herself and calm Ivelleos.

Ivelleos struggled against the haremaid's grasp however, screaming "Let me go! You'll capsize us! Vrel, I can't do it, I can't do it! Let me goooooo!"

"Hold him, Goldflower!" Vrel shouted as he pushed the boat with all his might out onto the river, pulling himself in over the side, causing it to rock more, which also caused Ivelleos to let out a shrill squeal of terror until Goldflower let him go, cursing as she lost her balance and sat down heavily. The terrified ferret crouched at the bottom of the boat, closing his eyes tightly as Vrel picked up a pair of oars and started rowing them to the other bank.

It didn't take long, as it was a fairly calm river, and Vrel didn't have to struggle with the oars to get them there. As they neared the other side, Vrel leaned over to quietly whisper in Goldflower's ear, who nodded and, taking the provision packs slipped out of the boat and onto the shore as stealthily as she could.

Unfortunately for Ivelleos, who was still face down in the boat with his eyes closed, unaware of anything around him, Vrel had decided the ferret should face his fears. Without warning, he stood up and began rocking the boat back and forth roughly.

A stream of curses like no other proceeded to spill out of the horrified ferrets mouth, stuff that would have made even a vermin corsair blush.

Suddenly, the small vessel capsized!

Ivelleos immediately let out a scream and set into paddling madly for his life, his eyes still closed, gasping and panting as he tried to stay afloat. He had never known such terror as this cold, dark water, this abyss which was trying to suck him in and swallow him whole.

Vrel sat on the sand not ten feet away, shaking his head and grinning as he watched. Finally, the squirrel decided it was time to end this, and shouted "Leo, stand up!"

It took a few moments, but something clicked in Ivelleos' mind, and he slowly stood up, opening his eyes. His footpaws touching solid ground. As he stood straight up, he realized the water only came up to his middle.

He simply glared at Vrel, who began rolling over himself in the sand, bursting with laughter, as Goldflower chuckled to herself and helped Ivelleos dry off.

The ferret probably would have been angrier, but he was just grateful to be alive after such an ordeal.

After that, the path ahead of them was fairly quiet and uneventful, save the hairmaiden's constant chattering about this and that, which the other two mad to no end, though they were both far too much of gentlebeasts to show it.

Finally, in an attempt to at least gain a bit of useful information from all the noise, Ivelleos started questioning Goldflower about herself and the place she was from.

The haremaid was more than happy to answer the questions, and among all the scattered facts about her such as her favorite color (which was supposedly neither red nor pink but a sort of cross between them, with a splash of turquoise sprinkled in) the two companions learned that she was from Salamandastron, which both Vrel and Ivelleos were suprised to hear was inhabited. She was a junior member of the Long patrol, a group of militaristic hares lead by the badger lord Tellius.

She had apparently gone out on a short scouting mission, against the orders of her Lieutenant, and was captured by Brushtail and his two companions, which was, she said, how she had wound up in that situation.

They had been traveling for a good few hours when they stopped to rest, since Goldflower mentioned she was starting to get dizzy again, though she seemed fine as she dug into the plateful of food Vrel had scavenged up to go with the few rations they had left from their backpacks.

Ivelleos meanwhile, began studying his books again. Vrel simply napped in the branches of a tall ash tree nearby.

Just as the squirrel awoke and climbed down, preparing to drag his ferret friend out of a book about plant life so that they could continue on for a bit longer before setting up camp, a voice rang out from the trees

"Who jolly well goes there? Identify y'selves! Friend or foebeast?"

Vrel whipped around, drawing one of his blades as his eyes quickly scanned the undergrowth.

He shouted back "That depends. We come in peace, but we'll fight if we have to!"

"Good enough for me then, wot!" Vrel jumped as a hare, dressed as a scout, popped up to his left. Suddenly the three were surrounded by at least a score of hares, each of them standing sharply at attention as the one near Vrel bowed, and introduced himself "Lieutenant Forrel, 'atcha service, Sah! Seems to me you've gone and found that flippin' sister of mine, Goldflower. I suppose you found the gel lost in these woods, eh?"

Vrel bowed, taking off his hat so that it wouldn't slip off, and said "My name is Vrel Di'carthillon, and my friend there of the ferret persuasion is Ivelleos. We actually found your sister being held hostage by some vermin, who were planning to use her to blackmail some woodlanders. They were dealt with quickly enough though, and your sister suffered naught but a blow to the head."

Lieutenant Forrel nodded "Good show then, wot! Might knock some sense into the silly little blighter!"

Goldflower, who had been listening in as she swallowed the last bite of food, shouted at her older brother "Blighter yourself, y'old pine nose! I could have taken those vermin alone if they hadn't jumped me! Fortunately, these two were there to protect me, unlike you!" She glowered at the liutenant

One of the younger hares, Scutter, questioned rudely "A ferret killing his fellow vermin? Seems like a bally traitorous thing to do, eh? I suppose most vermin are back-stabbers though, wot!"

Ivelleos simply pursed his lips, while both Vrel and Lieutenant Forrel moved to rebuke the young hare, but Goldflower beat them to it surprising everyone "Ivelleos is NOT a vermin, you flippin' great oaf! You haven't half the brain, and you're just bloomin' jealous! Flamin' pine-snouted, prickle-pawed, ugly excuse for a-"

"That will be enough, Private Goldflower."

All eyes turned, and all the hares, Goldflower included, saluted as a tall hare dressed in a finely tailored red military coat, which was adorned with medals, strolled up.

Goldflower, surprisingly, had to think for a moment before she began babbling out "Major Jennings, Sah! I had no idea you were here, Sah! Just trying to explain to Private Scutter that he shouldn't be judging a beast just by their appearance, Sah!"

Captain Jennings removed a monacle from his front pocket, and put it on over his eye, staring down at the young haremaid "I heard exactly what you were saying to Private Scutter, little miss, and you ought to be ashamed, using such language! A disgrace, madam, to yourself and the whole of the long patrol if you can't control that temper. And you..." he turned to Scutter "Should not be making such ridiculous comments. Though most vermin are bad-hearted, any living beast with free will can choose good as soon as evil! This young ferret seems to be one of the finer ones, actually, having saved miss Goldflower from those who chose evil."

Ivelleos finally found his voice, and quietly spoke out "Well, actually sir, 'twas Vrel who did the saving. I simply nursed her back to health."

Jennings looked out of his monacle at the ferret, saying "And who would this Vrel be then, Lad? Speak up!"

Vrel moved forward, bowing once more "I am Vrel, sir. Vrel Di'carthillon, at your service. I was just telling the Lieutenant here that I came across three vermin dragging the young haremaid along, on the other side of the river. From what I heard, they were planning to use her to bait some woodlanders out of their valuables, so I stepped in. Killed two of them, the third ran off however."

"I see. Di'carthillon... Tell me, lad, do you know a squirrel that goes by Zether?" The Captain asked quickly.

Vrel looked surprised for a moment, then said "Er, well, yes I do sir. He found me when I was barely old enough to walk, and raised me. Taught me how to use my weapons, even helped me forge my own when he decided I'd learned enough." He drew forth both of his scimitars, spinning them slowly before handing one, hilt first, to Jennings, asking "Do you know him?"

The hare took the proffered sword, and looked up and down the blade before swinging it gently to test its balance. "Aye, most certainly the work of skilled beast." He made a few practice swings, then handed the scimitar back to Vrel, who sheathed both blades while the Captain continued "Yes, I know him. He and I used to travel together many, many seasons back. Saved each other's hides more often then not. How is he? Still standing tall I hope."

Vrel nodded, replying "Aye, he's the Lord of his own little village now. Mirkatar, far to the south. It's here my companion and I are from. He spends most his days writing songs and poetry. He's quite good, from what Ivelleos tells me. I've never had the patience for that sort of thing."

Lieutenant Forrel interrupted, saying "Erm, 'scuse me sah, but won't the rest of the patrol be missing us if we don't return soon?"

Jennings turned, and stood a bit straighter "Quite right, Lieutenant. Long Patrol, move out! You're welcome to come along, young ones. Mayhaps you can tell me a bit more about Zether. Like how the old lump got to be ruler of anything, let alone a town!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**** Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Honestly, I just wasn't feeling inspired, then recently I started on an original story (that I will soon be posting to Fictionpress) and I thought "why not take a break from that by writing more of this?**

**Well, didn't work out that way. I sat there for awhile trying to figure out where to take the story next. Then I decided to try reading some other Redwall fanfics for inspiration, and I found "Thekka", a nice story by Ikeda Rose. So just a few chapters in, I finally felt inspired enough to start up again, so, thanks Ikeda!**

**Edited to add: Uploading this at 4am… Hopefully I didn't make any mistakes, if I did, let me know. Enjoy!**

* * *

Kilvanya sat in her tent frowning, scheming, and cursing under her breath as she tried to figure out her next move. Things had not gone according to plan.

The Black Knight was supposed to have been her ace, all he was supposed to do was get close to Havran, maybe in a couple moons get himself put in the Warlord's bodyguard, and get Kilvanya the information she wanted, why was her mate building up this great horde, and even more, why was he training them? He obviously was looking to conquer someone, but who? Where? Why was he so secretive about it?

But instead of finding out, her Black Knight instead got himself sent off to dark forest knows where, on a simple recruitment drive. Not only did she not have her information, she had lost one of her greatest assets. The Black Knight was completely loyal to her… Unfortunately, the Knight was also a completely honorable beast. He swore his allegiance to Havran as Kilvanya had, _stupidly_, told him to, and he would follow his oath to his death. Usually she was smarter than that.

Kilvanya cursed under her breath again. Normally she'd just go about this the simple way. Bribe one of the of the servants Havran had attend his war councils.

But these last few meetings Havran didn't have servants, or anyone save his most trusted generals, and bodyguards. How was she going to get that information now, and how was she going to get her most loyal soldier back?

She needed to come up with a reason for the Black Knight to be here, to start…

Maybe she could just talk with Havran, convince him to order the knight into _her _personal bodyguard… But no. The fact that no one knew she and the Knight were connected was part of what made the Knight such an asset, as well as no one knowing who or what the Black Knight even was. Male or female, stoat or fox, no one knew.

It simply made creatures fear him all the more, and on top of that, he was one of the most skilled swordsmen she'd ever seen.

No, she'd have to come up with a more creative, subtle excuse to bring the Knight back.

She sat in her tent for many hours, trying to figure out how to do just that.

* * *

Unlike Kilvanya far to the northeast, Vrel was in fine spirits. They were currently marching along a woodland path, and had been traveling with the Long patrol hares for two days and he was fast making friends among them. In fact, he already knew them all by name. There was Captain Jennings of course, the leader of this particular group, followed by Lieutenant Forrel, and of course Scutter. Then there was Kerri, Tristan, Quickpaw, the squads boxer, Bryson the cook, Loceh, Frederick, Dublee, The twins Wepper and Clepper, Lansky, Rackstream, Dallan, who was the youngest of the troupe, the highland hare Mcleous, and Vrel's favorites, the maidens, Rosecloud, the ravishing beauty Madison, Lillian, and Snowbelle, along with Goldflower of course.

The maidens were in fact some of the first to make friends with Vrel, he was quite handsome after all, for a squirrel, and he wasn't lacking in charm or a silver-tongue.

He also often hung around Quickpaw, taking some boxing lessons, but by far most of his time was spent with Captain Jennings, listening to stories of his adopted father Zether, and telling a few of his own.

Ivelleos on the other hand was having less fun. He was following right behind Vrel and Jennings. Though he wasn't completely out of shape, it was hard for him to keep such a brisk pace for so long, and he thanked his ancestors whenever they stopped for a breather. In addition to the physical difficulties, many of the hares clearly didn't like him. Most of them tolerated his presence only because he was Vrel's friend, and because Captain Jennings had ordered them to of course.

Jennings was quite an interesting hare. His coat somehow was always freshly cleaned, and his medals all shined brightly no matter how much dust the patrol kicked up in their march. He also sported long, well-groomed whiskers and of course his monocle that he had on, more often than not.

From overhearing Jennings and Vrel talk, Ivelleos had learned that the hare had apparently spent most of his younger days wandering about, rescuing damsels in distress and fighting off evil warlords, but those stories didn't really interest Ivelleos. What he was most interested in was the mountain Jennings had come from; Salamandastron.

He knew it from the map, and had read about it once in a very old book on geography, but he had never heard anything about it being inhabited, by an army of hares led by a badger lord no less!

Unfortunately, he realized, it meant he could no longer rely on the knowledge of this area that he had from those old books. The authors clearly were most likely simply writing from maps and a few spoken accounts of other travelers.

The ferret snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Vrel ask Jennings "So, ever been to a place called Redwall?"

One of the haremaidens, Madison piped up, her eyes bright, "Absolutely we've been, sah! Better vittles and better creatures you'll never find. I was there just this past season for their harvest celebration. More tuck then you could shake a stick at! And the entertainment, jugglers, comedians, singers and musicians. And that scoff! So much and so tasty! They can dance too. They may be peaceful woodlanders there, but by jove they can party with the best of 'em! And the _food!_ I've never seen so much nor tasted the like, no offense to our Bryson."

Bryson, the company cook, replied "None taken madam! Let me be the first to agree. I had a hotroot stew the otters there prepared… Could knock you clean off your paws! And there was a lass there, Lily was her name. Prettier haremaiden I've never set eyes on." He sighed whistfully, then looked quickly at Madison "Er, save our own beauty of the Long Patrol of course!"

Vrel's eyes glistened, a smile on his face, "Good food and beautiful maids… Throw in a few baddies to fight and it might just be paradise."

Jennings replied, "More often than not they get those 'baddies', vermin by the score scattered all over mossflower. Sometimes the blighters horde up and attack that fair abbey. Thinking to pull an easy score out of normally peaceful woodlanders, but they haven't won yet!" The hares face grew serious, "Still though, it's been many a season since the last attack on them, but I feel it in the air, something's going to happen soon m'boy. War may be coming, and many a goodbeast may lose their lives. You'd best be ready."

That brought the conversation to a sober end, as many of the hares had been with Jennings for a long time and knew him to be usually right about things, but still, even Jennings didn't know just how right he was.

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**A/N:**** Time for a quick little notice… I was recently told that I might want to consider using "Disclaimers" for my stories… You all know the ones. The little messages many of us put at the beginning of every chapter stating, "I do not own _"…**

**The reason I don't use disclaimers is because, at least here on , there is NO need for them. They honestly don't do anything for you legally, and to many readers in fact, they're just an annoying thing to skip over. **

**If you want to still add disclaimers to your story, feel free, it's your story. That's just the reason I don't add them.**


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